For everyone getting worked up about little stuff like global warming, here's a slippery slope to really be worried about.

C&R in Switzerland

What the heck? Banning "intent" to catch & release fish? What's next on the other side of the pond? Have they completely lost their minds?

I also believe Germany has the same type of law.
I also have been stationed overseas and did some military time on the European continent.
The answer to your question is yes, they have lost their minds.

There's a reference to the same law being present in Germany - I just can't believe two countries would do something like that. One's an anomaly, two's a trend.

I heard that on the radio yesterday. Wow.

i dont think that will happen here. not that there wont be folks who try, but the outdoor tradition runs deep in this country

Besides the slot limits..........

I don't see a problem with this law.

I believe in catch and shoot only what you plan to consume. If you want a sport, there is clay pigeon shooting.

Do you think it is right to intentionally trap an animal just to let it go?

Aside from accidental incidents(out of season or out of slot size), I don't see the point in "intentional" catch and release.

Traveling through Switzerland four months back I saw some amazing cool and clear streams I was told were full of trout. While in Geneva I translated some of the French laws and examined some of the history of fishing Lac Lemond (website translation-I don't speak French). The angling groups have slowly been eroded away to nothing. Interest is little. Habitat is shrinking as people continue to expand outward; what little undeveloped space is left in some European countries means there already is little habitat for sporting fish and game and little hope to get more or protect more in the future. Hunting is similar. Now anyone that fishes must take a class on ethically cleanly killing their catch. Trying for perch or pike and catch a trout or carp? It's going to the bag. Want to fish in one of the olde time countryside derbies or other big fish contests? You have no chance at releasing those fish.

Much like hunting across Europe, fishing will be next to go. Many European countries are examples for the U.S. and elsewhere on what can happen when the government becomes overbearing on Outdoorsmen and the tide turning with the generally neutral non-sporting public. The problem over there is nobody cares. To that end I see some hope here (remember MN's constitutional amendment overwhelmingly passed to support our hunting and fishing heritage?)

Without catch and release, fishing becomes the realm of the meat hunter (written with all due respect to those who lawfully keep their catch) . Trophy potential of certain lakes are wiped away. Taking someone fishing for the "fun of it" probably is gone to a certain degree as well, as fishing becomes a completely utilitarian practice. To me, catch and release boils down to your core beliefs of whether fish feel pain. Without saying too much, I believe that physiologically fish cannot feel pain, only stress, so I will have no problem continuing to catch and release fish, as I've done nearly my entire fishing life and others in my generation continue to do. To our generation, many of us still wonder what a stringer is.

So you don't believe in sport fishing at all?

I thought fishing was the "sport" of it. Even if you don't catch anything, it's a good day on the lake, right? I just don't like how some have to get their limit EVERY day. I don't think C&R has been proven yet as far as fish fatalities.

It's just getting to be too many people, don't you agree?? In the old days, a cowboy could chase buffalo, just for the sport of it(quote from 'Lonesome Dove')....that is until there weren't any buffalo to chase.

I would say the same for the anglers....you better fish while you can before there are more restrictions. I hate seeing the restrictions as much as anyone else, but there are just too many people now.

/Shakes head in disbelief; at the article, and comments in this thread.

You get it or you don't....

Ditto

Do I even want to say anything? Roofer, you somewhat contradict yourself in your two posts. C&R by it's very nature will return 100% more fish to the water alive than keeping every fish you catch.



It's been my experience that it's the folks who are out for meat and meat only are the ones who are most worried about catching their limit. Those who practice CPR, C&R or Selective Harvest are normally most worried with not only the quantity of fish they catch on a given outing, but are also (in many cases more so) are concerned with the QUALITY of fish being caught.

And it's also a completely different situation when you talk about hunting vs. fishing. There is no catch & release hunting. WHile there are trophy only hunters out there, most hunters are there for the hunt and also for food. Fishing is different in that manner. You have the CHOICE of releasing the quarry. And I for one, am glad that we are given the choice.